“Each opportunity is different, so the blueprint for success has to be different,” Babcock said. “We’ve spent a ton of time preparing and your preparation has to match the opportunity. Are there any guarantees? Absolutely not.

“We’re going to have good players, but the team that will end up being winning will not necessarily have the best players.”

Babcock turned a talented group of players into a cohesive team that won gold four years ago just as he did with the 2008 Red Wings and at the 2004 world championship.

Even though all hockey fans remember Canada won gold on home ice in 2010, not everyone remembers the struggles Sid the Kid and Co. had along the way.

“We had to beat the Swiss in a shootout,” Babcock recalled. “We had to beat the U.S. in overtime. We got a big-time save by Roberto Luongo against the Slovaks.

“You’ve got to line up the moon and stars to win and that’s why it’s so much fun because it’s so hard to do.”